Replacement
by Gossu
Summary: In which Hikigaya Hachiman gets married(again). Oneshot.


**Minor notes : Oh my, an M-rated tag? Spicy. Well then, since this is my first (And probably only) M-rated story, I just want to tell you that the M-rating is there for a good (And possibly lewd) reason.**

 **And with that out of the way, get comfortable and enjoy.**

* * *

Today, I am getting married.

…

Actually, no. Let me rephrase that.

Today, I am having a wedding ceremony.

But why the distinction between a wedding and a wedding _ceremony_?

Simply put, I am already married (Shocking), but no one knows that. Not my little sister, not our parents nor our colleagues. In the eyes of the public, we're nothing more than strangers. At best, we're mere acquaintances.

Most people would see us as polar opposites. Hot and cold. Rotten and fresh. Two pieces of a puzzle board that belong to different corners.

But it still doesn't change the fact that we are lawfully wedded.

So it really was surprising to me when she suddenly broke the news to me that she wanted to have a wedding ceremony after all this time; with her reasoning being that she finally wanted to let everyone know about us.

I merely said "Sure" in response.

It was confusing to me at the time, because what we did when we first got married was nothing special at all. In fact, we did as little as possible to insure that no money would be wasted in the process. Both of us were prudent that way.

I bought an admittedly cheap ring.

She hired an officiant, and contacted an acquaintance of hers to be a witness.

And before long, that cheap ring slipped into her dainty little finger, and by the words of the officiant, we were married. If my dad knew about this, he would've thrown a tantrum about the youths of today not respecting tradition.

…well, even I had to admit that it was a tad bit anti-climactic.

But I didn't care. After all, when I looked back up to her face after placing that cheap ring into its rightful place, she gave me one of the most stunning smiles that I've ever seen.

It was innocent, pure and childlike. I want to protect that.

So then, what is the real reason as to why she wanted an official wedding ceremony?

Even on the actual day, I still couldn't wrap my head around her convoluted plan.

Now, along with the ceremony came guests. I made sure to do my fair share of invites, but what I did was nothing compared to her vast network of social connections. While most of them are acquaintances, they would merely serve their purpose of being 'fillers' in the crowd, as she put it.

I find her reasoning to be a bit harsh, yet reasonable.

It was still harsh though.

But as is tradition, we couldn't ignore our parents. Mine were a bit shocked at my decision, but nonetheless, they were happy that I actually got someone to look after me. My mom was especially ecstatic, because, in her words, 'He needs someone to remind him to make his bed'.

Sheesh, thanks for your vote for confidence.

Komachi was…disappointed, I supposed. Even I could see the reason behind her feeling like that. My wife wasn't exactly someone that she knows well, so maybe Komachi was a bit wary about letting me go.

Her parents, however, were…less than satisfied. I say that because while her father was more or less okay with his daughter's choice, her mother had this look on her face that basically screamed:

'I will never approve you as my son-in-law.'

She never outright said it, but from the way she glaring at me, I was certain that that was the case. Hell, she was even mad at my wife for even trying to invite her to our supposed wedding. She didn't even show up today.

We knew that would happen, but at least, we tried, right?

Ah, the music started playing.

I immediately straightened my posture, and waited for my bride to make her entrance. She didn't show up immediately though. After all, she is a sucker for dramatic entrances.

I took this time to survey the crowd.

It was a typical white wedding that you'd see every day in Japan. Despite my desire to have a traditional Shinto wedding, _she_ insisted on having a white wedding instead, citing that we should move on from the olden days and all that wonderful things.

But moving from Japanese traditions to enact western traditions instead? She can be such a dunce sometimes.

I noticed a distinct blob of blond hair to my right. It was on the bride's side. Sneaking a peek at the blond mess, I found my eyes fixing themselves on the person that I had wanted to see the most.

Hayama Hayato.

Of course, while I am older, my 'Stealth Hikki' is just as good as ever. He didn't even notice that I was looking at him. No one did. As expected, he was conversing with a few other people, mostly people in suits, probably negotiating some new business deals. And he did it all while giving them that annoyingly perfect smile of his.

Oh, what I would give to rip it off in front of everyone.

With that earlier sentiment, one might wonder why would I say that he was the person that I had wanted to see the most? You don't want to inflict bodily harm on a person you'd like to see after all.

Well, while this wedding was my wife's idea, going along with it also presented to me some kind of advantage. An advantage that I'd fully utilized to show a certain someone the futility of his actions.

Oh, and Hayama being here must've been because my wife invited him, right? That must've been why I wasn't so glad to see him.

Nope.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Completely, and utterly wrong.

Because it was I who invited that shallow blond excuse for a human being.

Not my wife, not my sister, not my parents or her dad, but me. Even my wife doubted my invitation at the time, citing that I was lazy and didn't check who I was inviting.

Of course, she was wrong (I didn't tell her directly though), because Hikigaya Hachiman is not a lazy man. Energy efficient would be a better adjective. Energy shortage is a big problem in the world after all.

But I digress.

I had meticulously planned out the invites, but at the top of the list, I'd put Hayama's name. Why would I give such a priority to a person that I loathe with my very being?

Simple. It was to show dominance.

And no, I wasn't going to flex my muscles and make him feel inferior throughout the rest of the ceremony, nor would I challenge him to an athletic competition, because I already knew that he is better at that than I am.

The fact of the matter is that I needed to show him that no one can, should or even attempts to hit on my wife.

Yes, even with all of my perfections, Hikigaya Hachiman can still be jealous.

On one rare occasion where both of our days-off just happened to coincide with each other, and being the romantic that I am, I had invited her out on a date. Just a simple date consisting of watching a movie, followed by going to the zoo (She is rather fond of penguins), and to top it off, we would go to a highfalutin restaurant.

But as constant in life, things don't always go as planned. I mean, technically, we did end up doing all those things, and then some. So instead of everything not going according to plan, it's more appropriate to say that just like a constant in life, there are always road bumps.

Road bumps like Hayama and his bunch of mindless goons.

That day, we were walking to the station as discreetly as possible, so that her parents won't find out through their connections. In fact, judging by the distance between us as we walk, the general public would immediately assume that we were strangers walking along the same path, and even if they have an overactive imagination, all they would think of was that I was being reluctantly dragged along.

But on that day, it seemed that the goddess of misfortune had a bone to pick with me.

There were no conversations between us as we made our trip, so I couldn't really blame Hayama for assuming that I was being dragged around by my wife. As such, his hollow space that he calls a brain concluded that it would be a good idea to hit on her.

Yes. Hayama Hayato attempted to hit on my wife. To flirt with her. To make advances onto her. All while I was mere meters away.

I watched disdainfully as he gave her that awfully perfect smile of his while his minions all flocked behind him as if to say 'Look, my boss is really great, and we should all worship him as the second coming of Christ!'.

He didn't even notice me when he first babbled on and on about how pretty she looked. At one point, my wife turned to me with the most confused face ever. Hell, with that look, even I almost felt sorry for Hayama.

Almost.

But because he noticed that her attention was elsewhere, namely me, Hayama also turned his attention to me.

He nonchalantly said, and I quote, "Hey there, Hikitani-kun. Didn't see you there."

Of course, it came bundled with that god awful chuckle of his. Seriously, someone rip out of vocal cords, and you'd be doing the world a favor.

But being the wife of Hikigaya Hachiman and all, she quickly and succinctly made it clear to Hayama that she already had plans to hang out with me, and couldn't be bothered to bring Hayama along.

With another awkward chuckle, and a sheepish rub on his head, Hayama excused himself rather hastily. I guess even though we didn't outright state we were together, he must've read between the lines, and surmised that _she_ was no longer interested in him. At least, that's one good part about him.

Later, my wife asked if I was jealous.

I said 'No', obviously.

I wondered what went through his mind when he came up to us. Did he think that he might actually have a chance? How delusional.

To his right sat another blond, whom I recognized immediately. Despite her soft disposition, there was still that fire lingering in her eyes. Just a spark or an ember, holding on to a flimsy string of hope.

Well, I didn't want to be too presumptuous, but that was what I saw when I looked at Miura's face, as she continued to sneak glances at Hayama. Honestly, I pity her.

After all these years, and she still couldn't get over the Prince of Sobu. One might say that she's being persistent and romantic, but to me, it's just being self-destructive and pathetic. Clinging on to the last strand of hope of something impossible is the most surefire way to fall into the deepest pit of despair.

I didn't want to seem shallow by pitying another person, but I hoped that Miura realized this soon, and hopefully, move on. It physically hurt me to see her this way, even if we didn't get along that well during high school.

It wasn't my idea to invite her, but I guess my wife had something to with it. She is somehow strangely partial towards Miura.

My train of thought suddenly halted to a stop once people started turning to the opposite direction. It seemed that the grand entrance of the bride has begun. Thank goodness for that too, because I was feeling awkward standing up here all by myself. I felt like a circus freak being displayed.

The stuffy suit didn't help either.

As expected, she and her father didn't spare any expenses on the wedding dress, as evident by the intricate designs that even I, someone who didn't care about dresses, was able to appreciate from afar. She had this perfect smile on her face, something which I didn't like that much.

It was a business smile. One that she uses to negotiate or to make compromises. It was a smile that everyone got to see. For once, I wished she would use her genuine smile instead. The one she would use while cuddling with me. The one she would use when I tell her how great of a cook she is.

…Oh god, my dad was right. I _am_ a hopeless romantic.

She was being escorted by her dad, who was kind enough to grace us with his presence. I suspected that he doesn't like me that much, but he loves his own daughter too much to ruin her precious wedding day. Since the walkway was stupidly long, everyone had the chance to admire the bride as she inched ever closer towards the wedding podium.

Well, almost everyone.

Because out of the corners of my eyes, I could sense that someone was looking at me. Perhaps, I was being presumptuous in assuming that someone would be looking at an average man, such as myself, while there was a beautiful woman in an equally beautiful wedding dress sauntering down the walkway with the most dazzling smile ever.

But no. I wasn't being presumptuous.

It was a fact that someone _was_ looking at me. After all, with only my peripheral vision, even I could see that there was someone who didn't look at the bride along with the rest of the crowd.

Not to mention, I only have one friend whose hair is pink.

I quickly glanced at her before turning away just as fast. It would be too tense for me if I let my gaze linger on her any further. That isn't to say that Yuigahama and I didn't have a good relationship at the moment though.

Because we do. Hell, last week, we even went out to the aquarium at her behest, because she was finally back in Chiba after being done with some filming or whatever, and she wanted to 'catch up' with me.

The reason that I didn't want to see her was that…I didn't tell her about my marriage, or rather, my wedding ceremony. Technically, I also didn't tell her that I was already married for about a year or so but…

Argh, whatever. Details, details, details.

Therefore, I didn't intend to invite her. While I never rejected her in the past, as she never actually confessed, I wasn't insensitive enough to not notice Yuigahama's interest in me.

I might be dumb, but I'm certainly not dense.

The only logical conclusion is that my wife must've invited her…why though?

Speaking of which, I distinctly remembered removing Yuigahama's name from the invite list, since it's better for the both of us to not meet a day like this one. My wife must've put it in there, thinking that I want an old friend to come to the wedding ceremony. So I must've forgotten to actually remove Yuigahama's name, or she came here of her own accord.

Taking another quick glance at her, I noticed that she finally stopped looking at me, and instead, opted to look at her feet. Even though the bride was getting closer and closer, Yuigahama kept on ignoring her, unlike the rest of the crowd.

Somehow…I felt a strong urge to apologize to her for no reason.

Ah crap, she finally arrived.

My father-in-law walked my wife towards the podium with an altruistic smile on his face, though if one was as perceptive as I am, they would instantly know that the smile that he wore was but a warning. A warning towards me that basically dares me to hurt his daughter.

I swallowed a lump forming in my throat. Even in his old age, this geezer's presence is still as suffocating as ever.

The music finally ended, and he let go of his daughter to come stand by my side. Before he left to go to his seat though, he gave me another smile, to which I returned with a small smile of my own as I received my wife's hand.

 _Please just go to your seat already, almighty father-in-law._

But when he did, I realized that something was amiss. As I previously said, my wife's superb use of the connections that she'd built up over the years had filled this wedding chapel with a lot of guests. Far too many, in fact, as I could see that some people had to squeeze in together just to not be left standing awkwardly.

While the middle rows contained most of my friends from high school, like Isshiki and Totsuka, the front rows were obviously reserved for our family. The front row on my side had my parents and Komachi, obviously, while on my wife's side, her father was the only occupant. And since no one had the gall to intrude upon the sacred sitting spot of such a prestigious man, he was all alone.

Honestly, it made him look even more imposing.

I knew that my mother-in-law (Regrettably) wasn't coming as she didn't approve of this marriage, but even so, there should've been another family member sitting alongside him, even if I don't really want to see that family member.

It wasn't a secret that their sibling relationship wasn't exactly the most ideal, but I'd thought that my wife and her sister had made up a long time ago. I certainly hadn't seen them arguing or bickering in a while.

Then again, my wife's sister moved to England for a couple of years, so maybe that's why.

"Are you nervous?" My wife asked tenderly, prying my eyes away from the seats to her loving gaze.

I didn't even notice that the officiant had begun the wedding speech thing. It all seemed so over the top just for the end game of two people saying 'I do'. Honestly, weddings might be one of the biggest contributors to Japan's crippling economy.

I gave a soft scoff, "Kind of…"

Her eyes widened as she whispered a reply, "Kind of? You _are_ my husband, no? The one and only Hachiman?"

"Even a Hachiman can be nervous sometimes too, y'know," I whispered back, "Besides, you asking me this just proves that you're just as nervous."

"Touché." She gave a small chuckle. God, that was cute.

"Your sister isn't here today." I mentioned offhandedly, hoping to perhaps get a reason.

"I see…" My wife's beautiful face immediately contorted into one of sadness, "Well, I hope she comes soon. Don't want her to miss the reception as well."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Truth is…I'd rather her sister didn't come at all. I knew that removing her name from the invite list would be an insult to both my wife and her family, so I didn't. I'd actually hoped that her sister being in England would stop her from coming to the wedding, but she appears to be currently residing in Chiba since last month, so that plan's out of the window.

But considering that the wedding ceremony itself is more prestigious than the reception, so to speak, then if she doesn't come to ceremony, there would be a high chance that she won't come to the reception either, which would be a huge weight off my shoulder.

The two of us didn't…exactly have the most amicable of farewells.

And as the officiant read from his script, the crowd stayed silent, and so did we. Finally, we got to the part where the officiant asks if there was anyone who wants to object to our marriage.

What an idiotic question.

If two people are committed enough to plan out an entire wedding ceremony, and spend their time on inviting guests, what kind of idiot would try to ruin that? Not only would they seem like the asshole, but they would also be an eyesore to all the other guests. Not to mention, the embarrassment that comes with objecting the marriage would be stuck with them for years to come.

Unless, of course, they are doing it ironically.

But it appeared that I spoke too soon, because as soon as the officiant finished asking that idiotic question, I could spot someone fidgeting from the corners of my eyes. It was easy to spot her since the entire crowd was sitting still with smiles plastered on their faces.

Again, it also helped that I only have one friend whose hair is pink.

Fortunately for us, and for her, she reluctantly dropped her hand back down, and decided that her shoes were far more interesting. I gave her a sympathetic glance, though it was useless since she didn't look at me.

 _Sorry, Yuigahama._

Why did I feel sorry for her? Was it because of what happened in high school? She obviously had some feelings for me, but even back then, I hadn't given her the time of day. Also, she never actually confessed to me – No, that wasn't right. I didn't give her a chance to. I was too focused on helping Yukinoshita at the time to do so.

But it was too late now. We could never go back to those innocent high school days. I've already found _that_ something precious to me. I've already found that genuine thing to care for.

And I could only hope that Yuigahama will find hers someday as well, for her own sake.

"And so, will you, Hikigaya Hachiman, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The officiant finally asked, bringing a strange sense of relief.

"I do."

I looked into her eyes. Those deep purple eyes have always had a sense of wonder, and mystique to them. It was as if someone captured the deepness and vastness of the ocean and fitted them inside two orbs. They look so innocent and childlike, something which most people wouldn't use to describe her.

To be fair, most people don't know her like I do.

"And will you…"

I am not the most handsome or the most romantic. So sometimes, I feel like this is all a dream. A very beautiful dream, in fact. But I'm thankful for it.

Because her smile and happiness are my genuine things; they are the things that I want to protect no matter what. Even if it seems fake to other people.

"…Yukinoshita Haruno, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." She answered with no hesitation.

"Hikigaya Hachiman and and Yukinoshita Haruno have made their vows. I therefore proclaim them husband and wife."

The officiant then gave us a smile. It was probably a business smile, but considering that he was old and looked like a sage, he might've genuinely felt happy for us, and probably, for reminding him of his younger days. Who knows?

He soon added.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Haruno didn't waste a single second pouncing on me.

* * *

I stared at the rippling surface of the champagne-filled wine glass as I contemplated the very nature and meaning of life, existence, and the illusion of choice itself.

Am I someone who believes in fate? Maybe. Some people would like to think that a greater being is making plans for everyone, even if some people are insignificant in the grand scale of things. Then again, we are just a tiny speck of dirt in a cluster of galaxies, which itself is in a super cluster consisting of even more clusters, which is spinning around aimlessly in the infinite, dark, empty vastness of space.

So, maybe…the thought of there being a predetermined fate for everyone is very reassuring.

But it can't be denied that your circumstances right now were influenced by the actions you took in the past. The friends you make, the roads you travelled, the homework you chose to do. Therefore, it is plausible that there could be infinite universes which branched off from your various choices.

Thus, a question must be asked.

Of all the universe and choice in existence, why the hell am I stuck in one where Tobe exists?!

"Like I've been asking ya, man," Tobe drunkenly slung his arm over my shoulder, "How the hell did you manage to do it?"

My eyes twitched in annoyance. Because he decided to abuse the fact that drinks were given out freely, Tobe had been asking the same question over and over again with no clear context behind it. Everyone just laughed it off the first few times as Tobe soon digressed into another, clearly nonsensical topic.

Well, the only difference this time was that he didn't go off on another tangent, and instead, opted to stare at me curiously instead, which also prompted the others at the table to stare at me.

"Do what?" I asked back bitterly.

"Oh, come on! I know I'm speaking for everyone here since…I mean, you are now married with Yukinoshita _freaking_ Haruno of all people. Do you know how insane that sounds?"

Fortunately, or unfortunately, for me, Tobe and his morons weren't the only ones at my table. There was also Totsuka (Thank the heavens), Zaimokuza, and the ever charming sycophant, Hayama. I didn't know why he didn't go hang out with his business partners but whatever; I didn't care.

Since the reception was directly after the wedding, and combine that with the fact that Haruno's father had also invited a few friends of his over to discuss some political stuff, my wife had the unfortunate task of greeting everyone who looks like a geezer.

Ugh, the look she gave me before she reluctantly went over to greet the guests was far too guilt-tripping for me. I'll probably make it up to her later…

Most likely tonight.

"SO SO!" Tobe's ear grinding voice boomed once more. He should really shout more. It's not like everyone in the entire building could hear him after all.

I glared at him, but it had the opposite effect as his eyes were as enthusiastic as ever. Why did I invite him again? Oh right, to be used as filler…

"Tell me how you conquered Haruno-san, dude!"

"Conquer? You're too funny, Tobe-kun." Totsuka remarked to the side with a chuckle. He was lucky that Totsuka find his act funny, otherwise, I would've choked him out just to ease my head of this annoying pain.

"But aren't you curious though?" He looked over to Totsuka, arms stretched out dramatically, "I mean, this is _the_ Yukinoshita Haruno, right? And you're just Hikitani, so, like, why? How? When?"

"Even though Hikitani-kun is rather…ordinary," Hayama began talking, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face, "He must've some sort of hidden charms to attract Haruno-san, no? Well, at least, that's what I think."

I didn't say anything in response. Why should I? Just because I invited you to be filler guests at my wedding doesn't mean you'll get inside scoops on all aspects of my life. Except for Totsuka. If he asks nicely, I might give him some information.

Besides, none of them knows Haruno like I do. None of them could see past the façade and the shell she had perfected to see who was truly inside.

"Yeaaaah, but still though…" The ever obnoxious Tobe crossed his arms, looking rather unconvinced, "Haruno-san's like this suuuuuuper high mountain, yeah?"

He even made a point to tiptoe and show us how 'high' this supposed mountain was. I had to hold myself back from asking him how high he was at the moment.

"And Hikitani-kun is like this tiny, little ant. Uhh, no offense dude."

Yeah, just call me a tiny, insignificant life form. I won't get offended at all.

"So seriously, Hikitani-kun, how the hell did you climb that mountain and get Haruno-san?!"

I didn't want to respond, but when Tobe asked that, the entirety of my table suddenly went silent, and instead, focused their gaze onto me. Even Zaimokuza looked interested. I almost thought he was gonna pull out a notebook to write some pointers into. Scratch that, he was probably writing it under the table right now.

Heaving a sigh, I took a drink from sip of champagne to clear my throat before giving them a half-assed explanation.

"Sometimes, love just happens. There's no reason for it."

"That's a really vague answer, Hikitani-kun…"

I gave him an exasperated glare. Didn't he understand the concept of privacy? Then again, judging by his character, he's probably someone who brags about all the women he slept with, even though the amount of woman he did so with is equal to the amount of neurons he has in his brain.

Which is to say; zero.

"That being said, maybe it's not a matter of how Hikitani-kun wooed Haruno-san," Hayama said, much to the curiosity of everyone; myself included, "Maybe, it's the other way around."

"Huh, maybe that's right. There's no way an herbivore like Hikitani-kun can get Haruno-san, y'know what I'm saying?" The perennial virgin, Ooka, remarked offhandedly.

Did they not realize that the man they were talking about was right in front of them? In fact, I was literally an arm reach away from Ooka. Seriously, if I wasn't the tolerant saint that I am, I would've gotten the security guards to take him away.

Yes, I would do that. And no, not because I'm petty.

Besides, if I didn't, Haruno would probably do so in my stead. And she wouldn't be as forgiving as I am.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Tobe repeated mindlessly, "That's totally it!"

He slung his arm around my shoulder once more, bringing me in even closer towards his alcohol smelling breath.

"I mean, did you see what happened when the priest was all like 'You may now kiss the bride'," He dumbly imitated the officiant's voice, "And then, Haruno-san was the one that kiss him!"

The only ones to chuckle at this joke were the ones already in his clique. Ergo, Totsuka and Zaimokuza just sat there awkwardly, giving sympathetic glances at me.

I sighed. Why did Haruno even want a wedding ceremony in the first place? It couldn't have been for the sole purpose of showing off. She made it clear a year ago that we shouldn't have to spend so much money just to have our feelings validated by the faceless, unimportant masses.

Her words, by the way. Not mine.

"It's obvious who wear the pants in this relationship," Tobe continued, much to my chagrin, and to the delight of his friends, "Wait, that means… Hikitani-kun, you're wearing her panties, aren'tcha?! Gawahahaha!"

I stared at him incredulously. Was he serious? Was he so inebriated that he didn't know who this ceremony is about? Or perhaps, that's just his character? In any case, I should reprimand him before disaster strikes him.

Do note that I was about to do it for his sake, not mine. I'm not a delicate flower that is hurt by mere words.

"Aha, Tobe-kun, you shouldn't say that, y'know…"

Totsuka tried as much as he could to help me, which I appreciated, but it seemed that Tobe was too drunk for the words to even register into his head.

"Aww, come on dude!" He stood up wildly, startling some other guests as well, "Is it wrong if it's true?"

"Well…" Totsuka's eyes shifted from Tobe to someone behind him, "It's not a matter of wrong or right though…"

"Huh, whaddya mean?" Tobe asked dumbly.

I, however, knew exactly what Totsuka meant. Not because we are eternally best friends or anything, but because I have a pair of perfectly functional eyes, and the brain capacity to realize that someone was standing behind us.

I sighed.

Disaster struck Tobe before I could save him from his own idiocy.

"Ara, you're Tobe-san, right?"

An extremely sweet and alluring voice captured the attention of the entire table. Well, except for me, of course. I hear that same voice every single day.

At this point, it seemed that the alcohol in Tobe suddenly evaporated; leaving him with the horrible realization that Haruno was right behind him. The others at the table were shocked as well, whether it was due to the fact that Haruno was so stunningly beautiful or they were worried about Tobe's wellbeing.

Most definitely, it's the former.

"Y-Y-Yes!" Tobe stammered loudly, attracting even more attention to our table.

"I see," Haruno gave an wry smile, hands clasped in front of her body as if making a request, "Well then, Tobe-san, I really appreciate the fact that you took your time to come to our wedding."

Seeing as she spoke to him rather softly, Tobe let out a sigh of relief as his face soon turned into one of dumbness.

"Ahaha! No problem, Haru-"

"But do be warned that I will not tolerate any trash talking or insults towards me or my husband. Especially my husband."

If looks could kill, Tobe would already be dead ten thousand times over. With just her glare alone, it felt as if the entire reception area was frozen in time. Haruno's eyes were not unlike that of an all-consuming inferno, and I was just lucky that I didn't stand in her path.

Tobe fair though, I did try to stop him.

 _Heh…Tobe fair…_

"Hachiman."

Haruno gestured me to follow her before grabbing my left arm without any warning, dragging it along with her without any restraint. She didn't offer any explanation nor did she slow down for me to catch up. Instead, she merely walked along with a speed that someone in a wedding dress shouldn't have.

But before we were far away enough to not hear anything coming from Tobe, there was one statement from him that I find particularly grating.

"See?! I told you she's a super sadist! Hikitani-kun is literally under her control!"

Super Sadist? That sounds like a transformation directly ripped out of a BDSM shounen anime.

Secondly, super sadist who exactly? Was he talking about Haruno? _My_ Haruno of all people? Tch, this is why I didn't want to invite people to be fillers at a wedding. They'd just see the exterior of your personality and don't try to even understand or empathize as to why you have said personality.

Haruno was no different. At first glance, she appears to be a goddess; well, by appearance, she is, but I digress. Haruno looks like the type of person who has everything completely in her control. She looks like a person that can manipulate everyone's life choices, and in the end, she will smugly say 'All according to plan'.

However, that notion is completely and utterly false. Yukinoshita Haruno is human. She is just another person living in this imperfect world. She is merely a human being who has no omnipresence at all, even if some people would like to think otherwise.

Those people used to include me.

I won't be a liar and say that I wasn't wary of Haruno when I was younger. How could I not be? A mysterious, apparently perfect woman who seems to have everyone dancing in the palm of her hand would make anyone afraid. I was no different; in fact, I had it even worse since she seemed to take an apparent interest in the Service club, which included me.

But that perspective was completely flipped over once I met her again after graduating.

Haruno is someone that I'd always pegged as an eccentric entrepreneur who is most suited as the CEO of a large corporation, or maybe, she could be a voyageur who wants to travel the world in eighty days.

I certainly didn't expect her to come back to Chiba.

And I most certainly didn't expect her to go out of her way to meet up with me of all people, if her words were to be trusted at the time. She might've just been teasing me though.

Since she had made her presence known to me, I'd wanted nothing more than to get away from her at the time. If I could, I would've flown to another country, preferably Canada. I heard it's nice and cool there.

But alas, since I was just a mere college student at the time, travelling abroad for a getaway was just a mere pipedream. Add that with the fact that Haruno seemed to have all the time in the world, I had no ways to avoid meeting her.

Most of our interactions were short and harmless, like a tap on the shoulder, a poke on the cheek, or even a few teasing remarks. A few of our interactions went a bit more…physical. She would sometimes cling to me or jump on my back; of course, I quickly got her off before anyone saw us.

And even rarer interactions were me helping her with some errands.

Why?

I don't know. College was a long time ago after all.

But the fact that I helped her with odd jobs still remained true. It would be just me helping to carry some books or some equipment somewhere. I didn't really complain that much, because at the end of the errands, she would often give me compensation. Not the financial kind, unfortunately, but she would often treat me with some rather fancy dinners.

 _It wasn't a date._

I kept telling myself that over and over again every single time I helped her. After all, how could I date a woman who brought me troubles throughout most of my high school years? I'd even thought that she was gaining my trust in order to ruin my life later because of the fiasco between me and Yukinoshita.

On one certain errand, however, things took a very different turn.

It was supposed to be a simple delivery. Haruno and I would meet up at a certain location, before moving to a corporate company in order to get her documents. I was a bit suspicious due to her not using her driver to pick them up for her, or not using a car or any mode of transportation to travel to her the company.

Either the documents were extremely important and could only be entrusted to her, or she just wanted to make me exert extra energy.

Well, either way, I'd get a free meal at the end of it all.

I distinctly remembered being a bit early at our meeting spot. Punctuality might not be one of my strong suits, but with Haruno, any holes or weaknesses will be immediately and brutally exploited. I wanted to avoid that so I left my apartment ten minutes earlier than I intended.

Fortunately for her, it would be the best decision I made that day.

Now, even to this day, I was still dumbfounded as to how Haruno got herself into that mess. It was extremely careless and out of character for her to do so.

It's not an unknown fact that the entire country of Japan boasts an extremely low crime rate in all the prefectures. Of course, there are still the occasional delinquents and mobsters, and Chiba was no exception to that. Despite the prefecture being heavily industrialized, there are still areas that are quiet and unassuming; a perfect place for a crime to occur.

Fortunately for me, the place I was heading to wasn't too quiet. There weren't as many people here compared to the Chiba station, but there were still people nonetheless.

But unfortunately for me, it wasn't safe at all.

As I walked along the pavement, I began noticing certain sounds coming from the general direction of the alleyway. Like any other normal pedestrians, I tried my best to not pay attention to it. As a matter of fact, I'd even pulled out my earbuds and phone in order to play some music to distract myself.

But like the stupid cat that I am, curiosity got the better of me.

The alleyway was dark, with minimal lighting coming down from above. The trashcans, garbage dumps, and trash bags only added to the illusion of it being an extremely claustrophobic and dark space, despite it being daytime.

And it was because of those things that I almost missed the sight of Haruno…being backed into the corner by four men who would have no qualms about beating me or her down to a pulp.

Another man was lying on the ground, obviously incapacitated. I assumed Haruno did this to him, but judging by the bruises and the fear in her eyes, she wasn't able to do anything after that.

Fear.

That is one word that I would've never used to describe Yukinoshita Haruno.

How could I? From all of our interactions thus far, Haruno is a cool, calm and collected woman. She's the type of person that is able to stay one hundred steps ahead of everyone, while having them dance to the beat of her drums.

She is smart.

She is beautiful.

But alas, she is still human after all.

I racked my brain for any suitable courses of action. Even from afar, I could see that she was breathing hard. Too hard, in fact.

She was hyperventilating.

I was too.

Taking in a deep breath to calm myself, I was able to list down three options that might get her out of this mess.

Since this area had a few pedestrians walking about, I could call out to them in order to have them as a back-up.

 _No, that would be too risky. Those thugs would notice my screams, and would immediately take Haruno away._

I could phone the police. I didn't see any officers patrolling about, so the quick dial was the only way to alert any officials.

 _Again, that plan was no good. Judging by how fast those men were approaching Haruno, it would be too late._

Or…I could run in to make a dramatic rescue.

 _No, no, no. You stupid idiot!_

I kept repeating those words to myself. I'm not a fighter. I'm not athletic. The only training I had was a try out for a taekwondo club in middle school, which I failed miserably at. No, fighting them would be a fool's errand.

The clatter of trash can falling down alerted me to the scene in front of me. They were coming closer to her. But there was still an opening that she could use. However, she was so occupied with the thugs in front of her that she couldn't think straight.

I don't want to be called a knight in shining armor, but in this case, I guess that term was applicable. After all, a knight in shining armor is a knight that has never fought before.

Taking another deep breath, I put on a calm facade as I walked onto the scene, attracting looks from both the thugs and Haruno, the latter trying to mouth something to me, but failed at doing so.

Glaring as hard as I could, I'd somehow managed to deter them from coming closer. But that was only for a while as they saw my bluff soon enough. My hands were in my pockets, not because of the winter cold, but because they were shaking from fear.

I couldn't let these bastards see that. Grabbing Haruno by the arm, I lifted her from the ground. Her once perfect face was ruined by bruises and cuts. She looked at me in shock and once again, tried to say something, but no words came out.

Hearing footsteps, I looked back the men before us. They were coming closer, and my glares had no effect on them anymore.

Steeling my nerves, and taking one final deep breath, I executed a taekwondo move that was banned in competitions due to its insane effectiveness.

And so, with Haruno in tow, I ran as fast as I could to the other side of the alleyway.

The trashcans and garbage dumps in the way were the only obstacles blocking our path. It was extremely difficult trying to maneuver around a cramp space such as an alleyway, especially with another person with you.

I managed to block them for a while with a desperate kick to a trash can, but even that wasn't enough. My grip on Haruno's wrist grew stronger as my breathes grew more ragged. However, since I quite literally know the entire layout of Chiba like the back of my hand, with just a few sharp turns and detours, we'd somehow managed to lose the thugs chasing us.

Not wanting to take any risk, I gave her my jacket before taking a more discreet route towards my apartment. Even if I lost sight of them didn't necessarily mean that they lost sight of me, and with Haruno being the way that she was, I didn't want any more troubles on my part.

I had half a mind to call the police to report the assault, but since I've took her to my apartment, she was quiet. Far too quiet for _the_ Yukinoshita Haruno. And because I was too scared at the time, I couldn't get a clear look at their faces, so calling the police would solve nothing.

Haruno didn't protest when I brought her into my apartment. When I tried to let go of her, she gripped my wrist instead. Her hair was covering her eyes so I couldn't see her face, though any person with half a brain could tell how she was feeling.

Somehow, after a few arduous minutes, I managed to loosen her grip just enough so that I could prepare a few drinks for her. Even after an hour or so, she didn't speak. I managed to catch a glimpse of her eyes and they were lifeless.

Soulless.

Empty.

It was scary.

I let her stay at my apartment for that night. It was too risky for her to go out again. After all, those thugs might have specifically targeted Haruno, and I didn't want a guilty conscience in my mind ever again.

During breakfast next morning, Haruno blurted out something that might or might not have revealed an entirely new side to her personality.

" _I'm afraid of men."_

That was what she said verbatim. Of course, I didn't say anything, and I didn't believe anything she said.

The great Yukinoshita Haruno is androphobic? I found it insulting that she believed that I was going to believe her on that.

Obviously, I didn't voice my apprehension because of what she went through yesterday. Instead, I nodded and gave a half-hearted "I see."

She wasn't herself that day, because if she was, she would've seen through my lies. But instead of being the perceptive woman that I was used to, Haruno simply kept on talking to me, as if I was some sort of therapist.

Did she honestly think that I deserve to know about her backstory?

That day, very interesting things came to light regarding Haruno and her family. Her dad is a member of the Chiba diet; that much, I knew, but what I didn't know was the fact that even with his widespread influence, he still couldn't be everywhere to watch over his beloved daughter.

Simply put, she got bullied and shunned a lot, by her male classmates no less.

Shocking, I know. The great almighty Haruno being bullied? Pfft, get that nonsense out of here.

Of course, with that declaration coming out of Haruno's mouth, I found it hard to disprove it, yet at the same time, I also found it hard to believe.

" _I'm pathetic."_

That was the next prominent thing she said.

Pathetic how, exactly?

Well, as she put ever so eloquently, she was pathetic in showing me this side of hers. The side that was clearly vulnerable and was prone to being taken advantage of.

The facade that she had put on for everyone to see was something that she'd developed as a shield or a wall, so to speak, in order to ward off those who tried to hurt her. With her being as influential and charismatic as she is right now, I'd say that it worked. Too well, might I add. Not that it was a surprise though; she had years upon years to perfect it after all.

However, while lies become truth over time, I guess even those kinds of lie have holes in them.

As always though, I didn't really believe in what she said. After all of our interactions, I would be stupid to. But I couldn't exactly call her out and tell her to stop this self-pitying crap that she was doing.

It wasn't like I could say 'Nah, you're lying. Get your bullshit out of here."

Even I have a little bit of tact after all.

So instead, I offered her words of reassurance, hoping that she would sense the tone in my voice, and get a clue.

I remembered saying something along the lines of 'I'll be here for you, if you want. You are Yukinoshita's sister after all, so it's the least I can do for her.'

It felt so wrong saying that sentence towards Haruno, but apparently, she didn't think so. Almost immediately after I said that, she thanked me with the most wholesome smile on her face.

I quickly averted my gaze and reminded myself that I had no choice in the matter.

From that day on, I began hanging out with Haruno more. And by hangout, I meant constantly being by her side, because as hard as I tried, she kept on bugging me and forcing me to walk with her to her destinations.

The only free time I had was during my university lectures. But even then, she would wait for me after classes, causing rumors to swell up.

Not that I care though. Seeing Haruno being literally someone else was jarring and unnerving. I instinctively raised my guard every time we hung out. She seemed to have gone back to her old facade after a month or so though.

Yes, I was stuck as Haruno's unofficial caretaker for a month.

But one day, something changed.

Call it the mere exposure effect or my twisted sense of rectification if you will, but as the days went by, I began noticing Haruno more as woman rather than an annoyance. It was a strange experience, and the more I tried to deny it, the more I began thinking about her. About how she was doing. If she was safe. If she was cold or not.

It was stupid.

I hated that feeling.

But before I could take the appropriate course of action, Haruno one-upped me by nonchalantly proposing the idea that she should move in with me. I was too dumbstruck and stunned to even form a well thought out response, so I just went with a nod.

In hindsight, that was really stupid. _I_ was really stupid.

We weren't exactly 'official' or anything; we just went along with the flow. Honestly, I thought that this relationship of ours would end in a month or two, because it was too good to be true.

It didn't.

Even though we spent more time together than I can count, Haruno's interest in me didn't decrease. In fact, it increased. She would constantly text me or call me, even during work. At home, she would try to lessen all of my workload by doing all my chores for me. She'd even tried to get me to work in her company, just so that she could see me more often.

It was really sad seeing her like this. Haruno would only act like this towards me; towards any other people, she would treat them with the same nonchalance that she would treat everyone else with.

I know it's wrong…but it flipped a strange switch inside me for some reason.

"Haruno, where are we going?" I finally got impatient and asked.

Haruno tightened her grip on my hand as she continued walking, "We're almost there. Just wait a bit, Hachiman."

I nodded absentmindedly.

The reason why I got so ticked at Tobe calling Haruno a super sadist was simple. It was factually wrong. He didn't try to see past the wall that Haruno had expertly built. He didn't even try to understand our relationship. But I guess that's just his personality.

A random filler character; nothing more, nothing less. So it would be too much to expect anything from him.

Haruno led me to what seems to be a storage room of sorts. It was quite far away from any of the guests' tables. She then fished out a key from somewhere and unlocked the door.

Were we even allowed here?

Without a word, she gripped my hand once more and led me inside. I was right; it was a storage room.

As I looked around the room, a clicking noise was heard and my body was flung against the wall before a soft plump sensation touched my lips. We'd already done this dance a thousand times before so instead of wasting any time, I immediately attacked back, gripping her waist as I did so.

As soon as I did, Haruno began moaning as her tongue was overpowered by mine. The need to breathe, however, was too much for her as she began pulling away, leaving a faint string of saliva between our lips.

"Haruno," I began asking, "What's wrong?"

She clasped both of my hands in her own; looking down in gloom, "It's just…those guys…"

"Hmm?"

"They were hurting you because of me, weren't they?" Haruno looked at me with eyes filled with guilt and innocence.

I actually had to stop myself from grinning like an idiot.

Because Haruno being a super sadist? You'd have a better chance of finding a needle in a haystack. Right now, she was more akin to a puppy who is desperate for a headpat. The headstrong persona that she showed to everyone immediately crumbled down in front of me.

Seeing a once shrewd woman like her being so submissive actually made me feel really empowered.

"Haruno," I repeated her name again, "I'm not hurt. Besides, it's not your fault, okay? Those idiots are just like that."

She appeared unconvinced, "I know it's because of me. I just know it."

"How?"

Biting her lips ever so slightly, she replied.

"They wouldn't trash talk you if you were married with Yukino-chan…"

"Haruno."

"Or Gahama-san for that matter…"

I narrowed my eyes in annoyance.

"Haruno, look at me." I said rather forcefully, grabbing her arms to make her face me, "There's nothing we can do to change the past."

She nodded once.

"We are husband and wife; nothing will ever change that, alright?"

Again, another nod.

"I love you," Giving a soft smile, I began loosening my grip on her arms before bring one hand to cup her face, giving me a better chance to see her eyes, "And you love me, right?"

"Of course, I do!" She exclaimed rather enthusiastically. If it wasn't for the fact that we were in a closed off room, the entirety of the guests would've heard her.

"Good. Because that's all that matters. We don't have to concern ourselves with the opinions of other people, alright?"

"Right…"

Haruno smiled in relief before bringing her own hand to clasp mine, which was resting on her soft cheek. She then snuggled into it like a kitten, eliciting a soft sigh of contentment from her and a smile from me.

"Hey, Hachiman…" She whispered, almost as if she didn't want anyone to hear her; which was redundant sine there was no one else in this room.

Not that I mind though; this sort of moments between us is hard to come by, especially with our jobs taking up most of our time. But even though I thought she was going to ask me to kiss her or hug her or even just hold hands with her, Haruno instead asked for something far more outrageous.

"We haven't been doing it lately, y'know…" She purred into my ears, "Wanna…do it here?"

I shivered a little from her surprising advance on me. She must be unusually desperate today.

Holding her at arm's length, I looked her right in the eyes as I asked.

"Haruno, are you really alright?"

To which she pouted in response. Jeez, woman, if you do that again, I might have a heart attack.

"Come on, Hachi~," She called me by my ever beloved nickname, "I know you must be backed up after a week. All this planning stuff really took a toll on me too, y'know…"

"In that dress?" I gave a quick look at her attire, which obviously wasn't suited for the activities she was suggesting.

"Please…" She looked at me with upturned eyes, wordlessly begging for me to violate her in every way possible, "Besides, doesn't doing it in this dress make it more exciting than usual?"

I gulped. Both of us had dabbled into role-plays before, but never to this extent.

 _What am I going to do with you…_

Sighing ever so slightly and looking around for any signs of intruders, I rubbed my head sheepishly before using both of my hands to cup her face, bringing it in closer to mine. Haruno has always liked it whenever I took the initiative.

This time was no different. The moment her supple lips touched mine, she let out a sensual moan before her arms snaked around my torso. Without wasting a single second, I forced my way into her mouth, using my tongue to explore every nooks and crannies.

Haruno was obviously aroused as she hugged me even tighter, bringing my torso ever closer to her bountiful chest. Add that with the fact that she was wearing a sleeveless wedding dress, it felt as if she was pushing her bare chest onto me.

Well, if the scraping feeling on my dress shirt was anything to go by, Haruno was definitely not wearing anything underneath.

I pulled away from Haruno, so as to not disappoint her too much. However, the moment I did so, she gave me a pout, as if begging me to make out with her again. If anyone else other than me saw this, they would either question themselves about the possibility of them being in an alternate universe, or they would run away to escape Haruno's wrath.

Maybe, even both.

"Hachi, why did you stop?" She asked, her lips more pouty than ever.

"You're…" I struggled to find the right words, "…not actually wearing a bra, are you?"

It seemed my intuition was right was her once flawless face was suddenly overcome by a crimson hue, forcing her to cover it in embarrassment.

"Hau…" She gasped cutely as her face continued burning up, "It's…"

Before she could get a word out, I grabbed her by the arm and pinned her on a nearby wall. Ah crap, seeing her like this really got my sadistic side going. I couldn't stop myself even if I tried.

"What if our guests knew?" I softly whispered into her ears, eliciting a very strange response from her.

"I…"

From where I was hovering over her, I could see a strange mix of arousal and slight tinge of guilt in her eyes. But it was soon replaced with even more arousal.

But guilt? What did she have to feel guilty about? Did she feel bad having me do all the work? It wasn't like this was a new development; every time we had sex, I am always the one who took initiative.

"I'm being naughty, aren't I?" She purred suggestively, her voice completely betraying the guilt implied in her message.

Exhaling slightly, Haruno continued, "Therefore, I need a punishment. Right, Hachi~?"

With her saying that in that risqué tone of hers, I felt slight tingling sensation coursing through my body. I could literally feel my resistance snapping with every word she uttered.

Yukinoshita Haruno is definitely an M.

Abiding by her wish, I didn't let up my assault, choosing instead to close in on her, my face mere centimeters apart.

"Y'know…" I whispered to her, "I never thought I would see you like this."

Haruno looked up at me, her eyes filled with lust, before licking her own lips enticingly.

"And I never thought you would be this forward, Hachi."

Chuckling slightly, both of us leaned into each other, lips parted ever so slightly in order to engage in rather sensual activities. She had her hands on my shirt, unbuttoning it ever so slowly, while I had one hand cupping her soon-to-be-unclothed breast.

I could feel her breaths on my lips as she leaned in closer and closer. I closed my eyes and so did she, waiting for the moment of pure ecstasy and joy when our lips and body touch.

That moment never came.

 _Thud! Thud! Thud!_

Three knocks was all it took for us to separate from each other as we both scrambled to make not let ourselves be seen in this precarious situation.

What the hell? Did someone see us going in here? If so, then why didn't they just leave us alone? If you see a recently 'married' couple going into a secretive place, then using common sense, the correct course of action would be to not bother them because they might or might not have something important to discuss. Even Haruno looked beyond pissed at the interruption.

But all traces of annoyance disappeared once I heard the voice behind the door.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

My eyes widened.

 _It couldn't be…_

My throat went dry all of the sudden, but somehow, I was able to force my measly voice out.

"…Yukinoshita?" I pressed my ears to the door to hear her better.

"Ah, so it is you, Hikigaya-kun," She said excitedly, "Yu- A couple of guests told me where you went, and I just thought to drop by and say hello."

Say hello? Did she really think I would believe that? Come on, Yukinoshita. At least make up a better lie.

"Right…so what do you really want?"

There was a good reason as to why I was so apprehensive.

I didn't want to see her at all. After what I did to her at the end of our third year, it would be too awkward if I saw her again. No, awkward wouldn't even come close. Same thing goes with Yuigahama, but she had inexplicably shown up despite my attempts at removing her from the invite list.

Something was definitely amiss.

"Well…" I could clearly imagine her scratching her head in confusion right now, which was natural. You wouldn't normally question a guest on what they're doing at your wedding if you've invited them, would you?

"I'm sorry I missed the ceremony," She apologized, "I was busy solving…a couple of personal problems."

"Personal problems, huh?"

I heard a slight chuckle from the other side.

"Well, it _is_ personal after all. What? Did you want me to tell you or something?" She said in jest.

"If you don't want to, then I respect your privacy." I said briskly.

"I see."

She went quiet soon after. Well, we weren't actually seeing each other, so I guessed that made it less tense for the both of us, but even then, it was still awkward to some degree. If this door wasn't between us, I don't think I can even look her in the eyes.

"So anyway," Yukinoshita began talking, "Haruno-san, huh?"

Strange. Normally, she would call Haruno 'Nee-san' or something similar.

"Hmm?"

"It's just…" Her voice held a strange tone of wistfulness to them, "Who could've predicted that? I sure couldn't."

"Sometimes, it just happens, y'know." I repeated my excuse from earlier.

"Still…my sister? You two are quite the opposite, you know that?"

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I gave a quick and curt reply, hoping she would go away soon.

Unfortunately, she didn't.

"But you know what they say; opposites attract," She gave an obviously fake chuckle, "It's just…too out of the blue, you know? I've never thought that someone with eyes like yours could charm my sister of all people."

Obviously, she was talking in jest, unlike Tobe earlier, and I was going to respond to her in kind, but she cut me off before I could.

"But I do get where you come from," Her voice was wistful; regretful even, "Haruno-san is way prettier than any of women in this building. Not to mention, she's smart as well. Though I'm sure you can attest to that yourself."

I didn't reply. What she said was true after all, so I have no need to interrupt.

"Having a beautiful, smart and sometimes nice woman as your wife…"

 _Sometimes?_

"Even I'm envious of that." She finished her statement, "But don't worry, Hikigaya-kun; I'm sure somewhere out there, maybe even in another universe, there's a woman who's envious of Haruno-san for having you as a husband as well."

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." I replied dryly.

At least our conversations were getting less and less awkward as time went on. Now all I needed from her was for her to go away. However, the lack of footsteps or farewell indicated that she hasn't gone away yet.

Her sigh mere seconds later proved that.

"You know...I miss our little banters..." Yukinoshita said with a longing tone.

"Well, you were the one that left Chiba, y'know?"

"Well, excuse me for trying to pursue a higher education," She gave a small chuckle," Anyway, Hikigaya-kun?"

"What?"

"I was thinking of inviting you to a party. An after party, of course." She corrected herself almost immediately.

After party? Why?

"Well, it's less of an after party, and more like a casual hang out of sorts…"

"Why?" I blurted out.

"Well…" Her tone took a somber turn, "We haven't seen each other in quite a while, and not to mention…I also haven't seen Yuigahama-san in such a long time as well."

"And you think it would be a good idea to have a reunion?" I asked in disbelief.

"If you want to have the full Service Club reunion, then I have no objections," She answered, a bit too merrily for the Yukinoshita Yukino, "We can invite Komachi-san, Hiratsuka-sensei and even Isshiki-san, if you want to."

Do I want this reunion? No.

Do I have to answer truthfully? No.

But because of that little corner in my mind containing guilt, instead of giving her an upfront answer, I racked my brain for responses. I needed to be fast. The longer I take, the more suspicious Yukinoshita might become.

 _Honeymoon? Yeah, that reason might-_

"WWAACKAHAAGAHA!"

I uncharacteristically screamed when I felt the sensation of something wet running across my ear. That wet thing soon bit my earlobe lightly, a place that I am mildly sensitive at, causing me to squirm under the discomfort.

"Hikigaya-kun! Are you alright in there?"

"U-Uh yeah! I'm fine! A-Okay! No problems here!" I quickly made up lies in order to deter her from busting in here. I knew who licked my ear, and even though I might enjoy the sight of it all, I wasn't going to let Yukinoshita see her sister being such a submissive woman.

I turned around slightly before harshly whispering to the culprit.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of words, she replied with another kiss, overwhelming me in seconds. However, instead of falling to her allure, I managed to pull her away, forcing her to sport a strange visage.

"Hikigaya-kun, are you sure you're alright? Is there someone else with you in there?"

My mind was racing. I couldn't berate Haruno right now, not when she got that look on her face. I'll wager on the fact that she might even enjoy it.

"It's just Haruno!" I shouted, turning back to the door, "She was just…fixing my tie."

"O-Oh, Nee-san?" Yukinoshita addressed Haruno familiarly, "I'm sorry if you heard anything inconsiderate. I just thought Hikigaya-kun was alone…"

Haruno didn't give a response, opting to hug me from behind instead, effectively trapping me between her and the door.

"Oi, Haruno," I whispered, "Say something."

Hearing that, she dug her head deeper into my suit. What was wrong with her today?

"Tch," I decided that getting Yukinoshita to leave was the best course of action for now, "Yukinoshita."

"Yes?" She answered calmly.

"What were you saying about the party again?" I asked her, ignoring Haruno squirming from behind.

"Oh right," She gave a cough, "I was thinking that we could go with a couple of friends to a restaurant or somewhere else for a meet up. A casual one, of course."

"Really? In that case, it's-!"

I went silent in an instant.

No, Haruno didn't lick or bite my ear again.

No, there was no one behind us.

And no, the wet sensation on my finger wasn't just sweat.

"Hau…ah…ha…ahn…ha-"

Raspy breathes came from behind me, indicating that the source of said sound was exerting some amount of effort. Unfortunately, since the storage room was locked, there was only one other person capable of making such…noises.

I dared to turn my head. The sight that greeted me…honestly made me aroused.

Haruno's face was beet red, and there were trails of drool escaping from the side of her lips. Her body rocked up and down in a rhythmic fashion, with each drop causing her to moan even louder. Both of her hands grabbed one of mine, positioning it just right under her dress. With every move, an almost inaudible sloshing sound was heard.

Even an idiot could figure out what was going on.

"Aha…ha…ah…mmm…" Haruno continued to moan as she moved her hips up and down, making my fingers dig into her already wet womanhood.

I had half a mind to pull away, but Yukinoshita interrupted my thoughts.

"Hikigaya-kun, are you sure you're alright? You're strangely quiet."

"Yeah, pretty sure!" I answered hastily, "So about the party? When?"

My sentences were less coherent as time went on. The wet feeling as my fingers slid in and out of Haruno didn't help either. Her continuously sensual moans made it even worse. Not to mention, since we were in a closed-off room with little ventilation, I could literally smell the arousal that Haruno was emitting.

It was intoxicating.

It was stimulating.

But I had Yukinoshita to worry about first.

"I was thinking-"

"Next week, right?!" I interrupted her, "If it's next week, then I'll be free."

"O-Oh, sure," Yukinoshita somewhat agreed, "I'll tell you the specifics later after I'm done talking to our friends, okay? Ah, Haruno-san could join too if she wants."

"Yeah, sure! Have fun!" I spouted things off as fast as I could, ignoring her invitation to Haruno.

This was too uncomfortable. My pants were getting tighter by the second, and as if sensing that Yukinoshita was walking away, Haruno doubled her efforts in moving, causing louder moans to escape from her lips.

"Ah! Haauuuu! Haaaa…Hyaaaah-?!"

Her body rocked up and down harder and harder by the second, forcing me to turn around and stop her from falling from her own ecstasy. I managed to catch a glimpse of her eyes.

They were filled with nothing but lust.

"Mmm…hau…hau….Haa…Hachi~…"

Unable to contain myself any longer, I assaulted her lips, forcing my tongue into her mouth without any restraint. With my strength, I was able to lift one of her legs up, and turned her around so that her back was facing flat against the wall.

With Haruno positioned just the way I wanted, I pushed deeper into her and curled my fingers up; the same fingers that were in her sex, hitting her sensitive spots and making her moan even louder.

"HACHI!"

She cried out loudly, and if it wasn't for the fact that this room was far away from the reception area, we might've gotten some onlookers coming by.

Even though she let out that scream during her climax, Haruno kept on moving desperately, trying to sink herself even deeper into my fingers. To be honest, even I was getting quite lightheaded. The rush of blood to my groin and her intoxicating scent didn't help with the situation at all.

With one final twist of my fingers, and a bit of tonguing on the side, Haruno soon squirmed in my grasp, her back arching, forcing her breasts, which had somehow gotten out of her dress, into my face.

She was so smooth and so soft…

"KYAAAAAAAA-H!"

Haruno let out one last scream as a sudden wave of pleasure and pure bliss washed over her. Her back arches sharply as she did so, forcing my face into her ample chest even further. The discharge of hot liquid onto my fingers didn't deter her one bit as she was desperately holding on to me, her nails scraping my suit and her finger desperately grasping on to any form of leverage.

Within a few seconds, the room was silent once more, with the only sounds being Haruno's erratic breathing, caused by the intense rush of emotions she felt earlier. Her chest heaved with every breathes, as she sought to regain any sort of composure that she might have left.

"Ha…ah…."

I slowly but gently placed her down on the floor, as she tried to damnedest to keep her legs from quivering so much. She actually climaxed that hard? Her breathes were uneven, and the sight of her naked breasts didn't help calm down my own arousal either.

If it wasn't for the fact that she was exhausted, I would've had no qualms about ripping off that wedding dress and having my way with her right then and there.

But something else was occupying my mind.

Something that might be Haruno's own doing. But before I could ask her, I heard sniffles and hiccups coming from Haruno herself. Was she crying? Why?

"Haruno," I lowered myself to her eye level before softly asking, "What did you that for?"

As expected, no response.

"I know that we haven't been…doing it lately, but that's no reason to pull that stunt of yours."

Once again, no response.

"You could've waited till she was gone, y'know?"

"….-sor-…"

"What?" I leaned in closer, hoping to hear her better.

"I'm…sorry…"

Upon realizing the meaning of her words, I pulled back, trying to discern what she was apologizing about. Sorry about what went on a moment ago? Well, that was logical, but I suspected that it wasn't the only reason.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She kept on repeating like a mantra, as if scared that I was going to hurt her. After being together for so long, you'd think that she would take advantage of my passiveness.

But like I said; Haruno is a full blown M.

"Haruno, I'm not mad at you. Come on, lift your face up already."

Since we are husband and wife after all, it would be childish of me to not forgive her over something that didn't result in any embarrassing outcomes. Sure, I would firmly reprimand her later, but seeing as she was crying, I really couldn't stand the thought of making her sadder.

"I'm so sorry."

"I know you are, and I forgive you, alright?" I said with a sigh, "People are gonna be suspicious of the main focus of the party is missing, y'know?"

I tried to help her up onto her feet, but instead of allowing me to lift her; she did her damnedest to stay on the ground with her hands in front of her like a child who got her toys taken away.

Because she was still sobbing, I tried to get a clear look at her face. Maybe a kiss can wash all of her sadness away. Cheesy as it may be, Haruno always like an unexpected peck on the lips.

But when I pushed her luscious hair away, what greeted me was a sight that tore me up inside.

Trails of tears were streaming down her face without any signs of stoppage whatsoever. Her make up got slightly messed up, and her eyes were red.

"Oi, Haruno! What's wrong?"

Sniffling slightly, she muttered, "I'm so sorry, Hachiman…"

"I don't care about that!" I tried wiping her tears, but she just turned away from me, "Look, if it's about what happened with Yukinoshita earlier, then-"

"It's not just that!" She shouted, surprising me greatly, "It's not…just that…"

Reluctantly, I asked, "Then what are you apologizing for?"

Biting her lips harshly, she struggled for a while before letting out a coherent sentence.

"Don't you think it's strange that Gahama-san is here? Even though you removed her name from the invites list?"

My eyes widened. How did she know about that? I made sure to be as secretive as possible as to not have any awkward situation arise.

"How…"

"How did I know?" Haruno muttered, her eyes averted from mine, "I'm your wife, y'know? A removal from the invite list isn't that hard a secret to find out."

"Then why did you do that?"

I was confused. Very much so. Even though I had thought that Haruno was the one behind the reason why Yuigahama was here, I didn't expect her to say it first.

"Because I'm scared."

"Scared?"

She nodded meekly, refusing to look at me, "Scared of losing you to her."

Losing me to Yuigahama?

"What are you even say-"

"You know what I'm talking about!" She suddenly rushed into my face, the space between both of us mere centimeters, "I saw you on a date with Gahama-san one week ago."

If I was surprised, then I certainly didn't try very hard to not show it.

"H-How did you-!"

"I told you…" Haruno said softly, "I'm your wife. Something this little won't be much of a secret to me."

Sensing the impending misunderstanding, I tried to diffuse to situation.

"Look, Haruno, on that day, Yuigahama invited me to a hangout. That's all. A hangout between old friends."

"I know that…"

"Then why-,"

"Because I was scared that she was going to take you away from me!"

"…"

She was jealous? That was it? The only reason Yuigahama was here was because Haruno was jealous? That didn't even make any sense.

"Gahama-san is…way younger than I am. Way more beautiful, and she has tons of potential…" Haruno explained, her eyes now downcast, "Yet…you're stuck with me. You're stuck with someone who already has a path laid out for her…And I…I just…"

"You're afraid that I'll go away for her?"

Haruno wordlessly nodded in affirmation. I kept my gaze on her; I couldn't let her see me falter.

"So you invited her to our wedding because of what exactly? Your jealousy?"

Gritting her teeth, she replied, "To show that you're mine. That you're my husband."

At her explanation, I was suddenly able to understand Haruno a little better. It was the same thing I did with Hayama; to assert the fact that Haruno was my wife.

I mentally berated myself. How could I've been so blind? Haruno is my wife yet I was so fixated on my own problems that I didn't notice hers.

And because of that, she had to keep all these stress bottled up inside her.

"And that stunt you pull off when Yukinoshita was a door away from us?"

"…I wanted you to reaffirm your feelings for me…I know Yukino-chan has feelings for you, and I didn't want you to fall for her again."

"Haruno, look. I'm already ov-"

"I can't take a chance, okay?!" Haruno got into my face again, her eyes filled with desperation, "Hachiman, you are a wonderful person, you know that, right?"

"I'm not-"

"You're nice, kind and even if you deny it, you're an extremely lovable person. Honestly, it baffles me why people haven't flocked to you."

"…"

Haruno's voice suddenly broke down, "And it's because of that that I'm scared of losing you! When I learned that Yukino-chan came back and that you also went on a date with Gahama-san, how do you think I felt?!"

I guess…to a certain extent, it was my fault. I knew that Haruno was somewhat dependent on me, but instead of making sure of whether or not that was the case, I ignored her because I'd thought she'd already changed over the years.

"I'm sorry…" I muttered weakly.

She shook her head, "No, it's…it's my fault for not being open with you…"

"But I did mean what I said earlier," Haruno continued, her face determined, "You are an extremely wonderful person Hachiman, even if you are a bit rough on the outside."

Sighing wistfully, she gave me one of her beautiful, sincere smiles, and admittedly, it made my heart flutter for a while.

"You know something? I've never felt this way before…not with my parents, not with Yukino-chan nor any of the men I dated in the past. I've never felt like I could fully trust them…I never truly felt safe with them."

Both of her hands gently cupped my face, bringing it closer to hers.

"But you're different. You never treat me like some deity; you never treat me as a _Yukinoshita_ , but instead, as _Haruno_. And whenever I'm with you, I've never felt so safe in someone's arms before."

"Haruno…"

I tried to comfort her by giving a hug, but instead of returning the embrace, she fell face-first into my shirt, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I love you." She said in between sobs, "I'm madly in love with you. I love you so much that it hurts to see you with another woman."

Giving a faked chuckle, she looked up and said, "Please…I know I'm being selfish and a nuisance right now, but please…I want you to love me, and only me. I want to be cherished by you."

Taking a deep breath in order to slightly calm herself down, Haruno shakily cried out.

"So please...please don't abandon me! Please don't replace me!"

...

...

...

"No, I'll never do that to you. Don't ever say that again." I told her firmly. Then as if the weight of my weight sank in, she gave a sad smile again before pushing her head onto my chest.

"I want you to look at me in the eyes," I tried pushing her face up, but she was stubborn to a fault, "Come on Haruno, I _want_ you to look at me."

Reluctantly, she lifted her head up, but her eyes were still fixated on something else. Softly grabbing her cheeks, I moved her head so that we could see face to face.

"Look at me." She nodded slowly, "I love you."

And with those simple words, Haruno was almost on the verge of tears again.

"Do you love me?" I asked her, giving her a gentle smile.

"I do…I love you."

"And we are husband and wife, aren't we?"

Nodding, she answered, "We are."

"So don't ever lower your self-values again, you hear? Husband and wife can afford to be selfish with each other, y'know?"

With another smile, I pulled her head in and embraced her gently. She took up this offer of mine, and proceeded to bury her face into my chest. This little exchange of ours lasted for a while before Haruno pulled back, which left me quite confused.

"Ne, Hachiman…"

"Yeah?"

Because she was looking downward, I couldn't see her expression due to her bangs covering her eyes.

"We are husband and wife, right?"

"Yes." I answered with no hesitation.

"And you love me, right?"

"I do."

"Then…"

Before I could react, Haruno lunged forward, taking my lips over with her own. She took the initiative this time, as she was the one controlling the tempo. She moved quite erratically as she deepened our kiss, causing her half-naked body to rub against mine.

Before I could kiss back, Haruno already pulled away, leaving quite a visible strain of saliva between us.

"I can be selfish, right?" Haruno asked again, slightly lifting herself off of me.

"Of course."

Smiling, she threw something away. I tried to get a good look at the object, but I only saw a wet pile of white paper? No, it was definitely a clump of wet fabric. However, all traces of mystery disappeared when I felt a dripping wet sensation cascading onto my pants.

Haruno hovered over me, her hands holding up her dress, showing her exposed womanhood that was positively wet with arousal. That wet thing she threw away earlier wasn't just paper or fabric; it was something else entirely.

I gulped. Was she serious about doing this?

"So if I can be selfish for tonight," Haruno leaned in closer, her lips so close yet not touching with mine, "I want you to take me right now. Make love to me. Ravage me."

I wanted to get a word out, but she shut me up with a light kiss on the lips.

"After all Hachiman," Haruno gave her ever enigmatic yet breathtaking smile, "I'm yours…"

Without any interruption, Haruno merely leaned in closer, her lips and body impossibly close to mine.

"And yours alone..."

I wasted no time pouncing on her.

* * *

 **End notes:** **I apologize if the characters are a tad bit OOC, but since it is a story set in the future, characters' personality can change with time.**

 **Like always, there might or might not be grammatical errors or typos in the story. If you do spot one, point it out or just move on because you already know what word I was going for anyway.**

 **Alrighty then, au revoir!**

 ** _Edit: Added a couple of lines._**


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